A Night Among the Blackest of Stars
by rachel.leann
Summary: My version of episodes 10-23. While Damon tries to keep himself away from Elena, the group faces an enemy who has been lurking in sheep's clothing. Will Damon realize that Elena's feelings for him are true in time for them to be together, or will the enemy destroy any chance of them finding complete happiness? Delena, Forwood, Klaroline, and more!
1. 4x10 When the Lights Go Out

a/n: I tired myself out with all the possibilities of how the rest of the season is going to go. I finally gave up and decided to write my own version of the rest of the season, mostly so that if I don't like how it actually goes, I'll have my own version. Hope you enjoy! Also, please follow me on Twitter at _rachel_leann

Just let me know you're from here and I'll follow back. =)

* * *

Chapter 1 When the Lights Go Out

Elena stared out the window of her bedroom as frosted flakes of snow drifted to the ground. Moonlight reflected off the frozen water and tinted the flakes a faint blue. Unfortunately, this beautiful sight only caused her heart to ache.

Her mind swirled with memories over the past few days and how wild things had been. Breaking up with Stefan had been something that she hadn't seen coming, but something that had definitely needed to be done. Now, all her thoughts swirled around his brother, the man with the dark hair and bright blue eyes. He had told her to go home tonight so she had. No matter what he told her, she had agreed with. Most people would have thought she would have been free now that she was away from him, but that was far from the case. She was more captivated, more controlled, more enraptured by him now that she was apart than she had ever been when they were together.

To make things worse, she felt miserable. The coldness seeped into her bones in a way that she couldn't really explain, a way that didn't really make sense for someone who was dead to feel. Bonnie had spent the past hour with her, trying to explain how things had changed for the better, how Damon was letting her go so she could live her life on her own terms, not on his. When Bonnie had received a phone call, Elena had almost been relieved. After Bonnie had left though, the only thing Elena could think about was Damon.

Slowly, she pushed herself up from her seat at the window and crossed the room to her phone. Almost instinctively, she scrolled down until she found Damon's number. Pressing call, she lifted the phone to her ear and waited.

The rhythm of the tone was enough to drive her crazy. She had just decided to put her phone down she Damon picked up.

"Is everything okay?" he asked quickly.

A smile played across the edges of her lips. "I'm fine, Damon. I just wanted to talk to you."

Silence.

"Damon?"

"I can't now Elena," he said, the pain evident in his voice. "We will figure this out, Elena, but right now, you have to leave me alone."

And the line disconnected.

A frown tugged the corner of Elena's lips as she put her own phone down. Why couldn't he just accept her feelings for him? Despite the fact that his blood had created her, it had not created her feelings. Those had always been present, and had somehow intensified the second she had become a vampire.

And now, the only person she wanted to be with was being kept right out of her reach. She would find a way to convince Damon to be with her; she had to.

* * *

April let the dagger fall to the ground. The clank echoed through the dark cellar, causing her to jump. With her fastly beating heart, she could barely hold herself together as she reached down to touch Rebekah's face.

Then, she screamed.

Rebekah gasped for breath as her entire body convulsed. Then, as her body calmed down, she sat up and looked at April.

"I just pulled a dagger from your chest," April spoke through deep breaths. She was close to hyperventilating, but couldn't calm her body down. "How are you alive?"

Then, April's eyes grew wide.

"You're one of them too," she shrieked as she backed away. She tripped on the slick floor and crashed onto the hard stone. Blood covered her hands and clothes. It took all of her strength to keep herself from crying. "People like you aren't normal. People don't just die and come back to life!"

"April," Rebekah spoke as she climbed out of the casket. "Calm down. I can explain everything."

"NO!" April pushed herself back using her hands. "You're a monster." Tears fell down her face now. She reached up and brushed them away, but the blood on her hands only made bloody trails down her face. "I've spent all this time searching for you, wondering where you were, feeling deep down inside like you weren't okay. I've wasted all this time on someone who lied to me, who knew there was more to this world, and who still didn't tell me. I thought you were nice, Rebekah. I couldn't have been more wrong."

The shock and pain that flashed across Rebekah's face didn't slow April down. With those last words, April stood up and dashed out of the cellar.

Outside, the frigid night air astounded her. The cold air tore into her chest and sent agonizing pains throughout her body as she tried to run. As she dashed through the area, low lying limbs from trees brushed across her skin and cuts light scratches into her body. Despite the itchiness and blood, she didn't stop running; she couldn't.

When she finally reached the area where the trees disappeared into a starry night sky, she slowed down. Her body doubled over as she put her hands on her knees to brace herself.

Only a few steps away stood the road, but at this point, she truly had no idea what direction she needed to head in. As tremors shook through her body, she collapsed onto the grass.

Although the tears wanted to resume, her body simply didn't have the energy to allow them to continue. She had never felt more alone in her entire life. If Rebekah was one of them, then she had no idea who else in this place was like them too.

Her trembling hands pulled out her cell phone and scrolled through her numbers. The first person she came to was Jeremy. She remembered he had been late the day she had been crowned as Miss Mystic Falls. Maybe the reason he had been late had been connected with this mess as well.

Next, she came to Elena's number. Her finger hovered over the dial button for only a few seconds before moving on. If she wasn't going to trust Jeremy, she couldn't trust his sister either.

Then, she remembered Matt taking Jeremy's place to prevent her from being alone. That day he had shone her a kindness most people hadn't. She still wasn't sure if she could trust him, but right now, he was the only way she could get back to civilization.

It felt like an eternity passed before her eyes before he finally picked up the phone. A relief washed over her as she heard Matt's voice.

"April? Is something wrong?"

"Can you come get me Matt? I can't keep walking."

"I'll be there shortly. Just tell me where you are."

Quickly, April closed out of the call and used her phone to find her location. Although her phone told her the directions back to Mystic Falls, she couldn't find it in herself to make the trek alone. So with nothing else to do, she sat down on the ground and wrapped her arms around her knees.

Her eyes stared at the yellow dashed lines of the highway. Occasionally, a car would come by and its headlights would burn her watery eyes. From her spot underneath the tree, however, she was almost completely concealed. No one seemed to take any notice of her being there.

When she noticed Matt's car stop, she mechanically stood up and walked toward him. He rushed to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he pulled away and checked her face and body for wounds. "What happened, April?"

April's mouth turned into a frown. "I was in the forest. I saw things, Matt, that shouldn't be real. You're going to think I'm crazy."

A laugh escaped from Matt's lips. "I doubt that, April. Crazy things are normal here. And if you've seen things, you deserve to know the truth. I have a lot to tell you."

As they drove back toward the city, Matt told her about all the mysterious creatures that inhabited Mystic Falls. He told of how vampires had the ability to compel people, and how Jeremy, looking out for her safety, had given her vervain, which would prevent any vampire from tricking her again. He recounted all the events they had shared together that she had been forced to forget because someone had compelled her. And when she thought it wouldn't get any worse, he told her of how her Rebekah and Klaus couldn't be killed because they were the Original vampires.

"How long have they been alive?" she found herself asking when Matt had finished.

"A long time," he shrugged.

"And Caroline is one too. Oh, and Tyler. Right? I saw him looking in the cellar at the dead body there."

"What?" Matt slammed on the brakes. "What did you see?"

"There were a lot of dead bodies in the woods. When I was there, they were already dead. I never saw the person who did this. And," she took in a deep breath. "There was a casket that had Rebekah's body in it. There was a dagger in her chest and I didn't know what to do so I pulled it out." She let out her deep breath. "She's alive now."

Matt cursed. "I need to get you to your house April. You are not to invite anyone inside, okay? Clean up and go to bed and I'll be there as soon as I possibly can to fill you in on anything else you want to know, okay?"

"That sounds great," she said softly as her eyes watched her house draw closer. As they rolled to a stop, she offered him a shaky smile and climbed out. His eyes watched her all the way to her door. After unlocking it and walking inside, she glanced back to him. He offered her a final nod before he drove back toward the direction he had come from.

At least one thing had become apparent through the course of the night. Now, she wasn't sure she could trust anyone in the town.

* * *

Caroline sat inside her living room and flipped lazily through the channels. After a few moments of finding nothing, she turned the television off and sighed.

When her doorbell rang, she jumped. Then, being on her guard, she slowly got up and crossed the room. As she opened the door, fear instantly seized her.

"Klaus?" she said quickly as she surveyed the blood on his clothes. "What happened?"

"I need to speak to Tyler," he replied, his words articulated methodically. "Love, where is he?"

"I honestly have no idea," Caroline answered, secretly grateful that she really didn't know. "I take it you've had a rough night?"

"I have no more hybrids under my control. You can say that's a rough night."

Caroline sucked in a breath as she truly took in his demeanor now. Currently, Klaus resided under a forced calm. It would take only a small spark to explode that calm into a chaotic mess. She had no desire to be near him when that happened.

"Klaus," she spoke very softly. Her hands gripped the doorframe tightly. "What did you do?"

"What had to be done," he responded quickly as he turned to go. He paused and glanced back to Caroline for a split second. "If you manage to see Tyler, you can tell him we're even now."

With those words, he walked away. Caroline stood in the doorway as she simply watched him leave. It felt like years ago that she had walked alongside him the day of the Mystic Falls Pageant. On that day, she would have sworn that he had a human side. Now, seeing him after the plan to stop him had failed, she wasn't sure. Rushing back inside, she quickly grabbed her phone and dialed Tyler's number.

* * *

Tyler took a cautious step into his deathly silent house. His memory still tore at him as he recalled the visions of seeing the members of his pack lying dead on the cold ground. Klaus would pay for what he had done, but first, Tyler had to make sure to get his mother somewhere safe.

"Mom!" Tyler called into the silent house. His voice echoed throughout the area, but no reply came. "Mom! Where are you?"

He crept through the living room before moving into the dining area. As he saw the silhouette of a woman, he relaxed slightly. His mother currently sat at the table, facing away from him, with a glass of wine and a lit candle on the table.

"Mom, I didn't think I would-"

He stopped short as he reached out to touch his mother. Instead of her turning around to face him, her body shifted and collapsed onto the floor.

"Mom!" he screamed, but no reply came. When he checked for a pulse, there wasn't one. All signs of life had disappeared from her body.

His own body convulsed and shuddered as he felt the onslaughts of the change beginning. Taking in and letting out deep breaths, he remained calm enough to not change. Currently, he had no idea how he was going to defeat Klaus, he just knew he had to.

* * *

a/n: The beginning of a lot of fun plot lines. I hoped you enjoyed. As always, please review!


	2. 4 x 11 After School Special

a/n: So I wrote this chapter a while ago, but never posted it due to a hectic schedule. I named it the same name as last night's episode since I used some of the dialogue from the previews in it. I hope you enjoy it and please remember to review.

Also, I'm working on supporting a movement known as End It now as it tries to reach out and raise awareness of the 27 million people who are slaves throughout the world. It would be awesome if you went to the enditmovement website and signed the pledge that you want to end human slavery.

Thanks! And enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 2 After School Special

Elena stared down at the small slip of paper in her hands. After rereading it, she glanced up at her English teacher.

"I have detention?" she asked incredulously before glancing back down to the paper.

"Homework is very important Miss Gilbert," her teacher responded before walking back to the front of the room. "Next time, maybe you won't forget about it."

Elena opened her mouth to object, but closed it with a sigh. No matter what excuse she came up with, she couldn't say any of them.

_Um, I completely forgot about my homework because my brother is now a vampire hunter… and he wants to kill me. We've been trying to work on that. _

_I didn't do my homework because my vampire boyfriend broke up with me._

_I didn't do my homework because my next vampire boyfriend broke up with me._

_Oh, homework? Yeah… I'm immortal now. High school really doesn't matter anymore. _

As her teacher resumed her monotonous lecture, Elena flipped through her planner. Things in life must have been really bad. Not only had she not completed her homework, she hadn't even written it down.

The rest of the day seemed to drag by after that. In the hallways she passed Stefan, but he wouldn't even look her way. Personally, she didn't need another thing going wrong right now.

After the last bell rang, she made her way to the room detention was held in. To her surprise, Caroline and Stefan were also in the room.

"What's going on?" Elena asked as she surveyed the unusual scene. "How did we all end up with detention on the same day?"

A gust blew past Elena, and the next thing she knew, someone stood at the front of the room.

"I actually had a lot to do with that," Rebekah grinned. She sat perched on top of the teacher's desk. A lone shade had been pulled up from the windows in the room. The light fell gently across Rebekah's body all the way to the door. "I need people to start talking to me. So please, have a seat."

Elena glanced down to her finger and saw that her daylight ring had been taken off. With no easy way out, she obediently sat down.

"Klaus won't speak to me," Rebekah continued, "Matt won't answer his phone, and April thinks I'm a demon. Apparently, I've been out for some time. I would love for you to fill me in." She grinned as she showed the group that their daylight rings lay safely inside the palm of her hand. "You will speak or you won't get these back. And if I have to wait until night, I will employ much more… painful methods to get the information I need."

"What do you want to know?" Caroline asked from nearby in an exasperated tone. "I'd rather not stay here all night."

Elena glanced over to Stefan at that moment. Pain was evident across his face, but she knew there was nothing she could do to truly make him feel better. They both had to move on from what they had once shared.

"Where are we in finding the cure for vampirism?" Rebekah spoke up.

The group eyed each other.

"We're working on it," Caroline finally replied. "We'll have the map soon and your psychotic brother can fix Elena and start making his hybrids again."

Elena crossed her arms over her chest as she stood up. "I don't need fixing Caroline. I'm happy where I'm at now."

"You mean screwing my brother?" Stefan snapped as he stood up.

"Wait… what?" Rebekah's wide eyes stared at the group, but no one paid any attention to her.

"Stefan," Elena said as she reached out and touched his arm lightly. "We need to talk."

Stefan pulled away violently and marched away. When Elena thought he was going to charge Rebekah to get his ring, he turned back and exploded.

"What is there to talk about?" he screamed. "How many more ways can you rip my heart out? You liking him was bad enough… but you crawling into bed with him the second you were free from me? That's worse. Have there been other nights you've spent with him Elena, or was that actually the first?"

"That's _not _fair!" Elena hissed. She marched up to him and pointed an accusing finger into his chest. "He let me go, _Stefan_, so that you could be happy. He didn't worry about his happiness, or mine. He worried about yours. So don't get back at me for loving Damon when he's doing what he thinks is best for all of us. I'm not sure you ever did that."

The room grew deathly quiet. Realizing what she had said, Elena took a step forward.

"I didn't mean that Stefan."

"No," he replied, "I'm pretty sure you did."

Baring a moment of intense pain, Stefan dashed through the sunlight, grabbed his ring, and put it on. Without glancing backwards, he marched from the room.

Rebekah sat stunned.

"I have been asleep for a long time…"

"How could you tell him about me and Damon?" Elena asked, pain stabbing through her heart as she turned and looked at Caroline. "I trusted you with that information. How could you go and tell the one person it would do the most harm to?"

"Because he's the only person I think has a chance to save you," Caroline replied as she crossed the room to Elena. "He loves you Elena. He's perfect for you. And when you're human again, you'll see just how right he is."

Elena frowned. "I don't want to be human anymore, Care. I like myself the way I am. I have feelings for Damon now, and everyone around here is going to have to accept that."

"Elena…"

"And," she continued, picking up speed, "You say that Damon is terrible for me, and yet you trounce around with her brother like you have no care in the word. Do you know the reason I think you dislike Damon so much? I think you see similarities between Damon and Klaus, and are terrified by the thought someone like Damon can redeem himself and find love. Because if Damon and I can be together, what exactly does that mean for you and Klaus?"

"He _killed_ Tyler's mother, Elena!" Caroline shrieked. "I could _never_ care for him!"

With those words, Caroline marched toward the front of the room. Before she reached the sunlight, Rebekah tossed her the daylight ring. After putting on the ring, Caroline marched out of the room.

Rebekah tossed Elena her own ring with a shrug. "You really do know how to clear a room."

* * *

Damon ducked underneath Jeremy's oncoming attack.

"You've got to be faster, or you'll never be able to kill any vampires," Damon hissed. Jeremy swung his stake again, but managed to stab only air.

"And what's going to happen when I kill vampires and lose myself again?" Jeremy huffed as he launched another attack. "I'm glad having Bonnie here helped before, but I'm not sure if it will help all the time. How are we going to stop me if I go psycho?"

"Kill you?" Damon shrugged. "I've heard the aftereffects are terrible, but…"

He trailed off with a grin on his face.

Jeremy stopped and cocked an eyebrow at him.

"You jerk," he laughed.

"I try," Damon shrugged.

"So…" Jeremy began as he brushed sweat from his brow. "I've been seeing how you and Elena look at each other. I'm not your biggest fan, but if dating you makes her happy, then I really can't be against it."

Damon rolled his eyes before marching away.

"Wait," Jeremy continued as he jogged to catch up. "Do you not want to be with her? If that's the case, then you-"

"Of course I want to be with her," Damon snapped as he turned around. "Nothing in this world would make me happier. But unfortunately, she has vampire feelings for me, which means she's sired to me and really has no clue what she's feeling now. So however real she thinks these feelings are, they're fake."

Damon turned back around and trudged back toward the house. He just decided that Jeremy had given up when the hunter once again opened his mouth.

"You said vampire feelings," Jeremy began slowly. "What about her human feelings? What about the night I saw you two at the hotel? She wasn't a vampire then, so how do you explain those away?"

"I-" Damon opened his mouth, but shut it almost instantly. "She still chose Stefan after that," he finally managed to say.

Jeremy shrugged. "We always tend to choose the safe way over the more dangerous. She had always been with Stefan and thought she was losing you both. Her going back to him really only explains her past feelings, not her present ones. Maybe being a vampire finally gave her the freedom to pursue you. Maybe being a vampire gave her the courage to try the dangerous route."

Although Damon didn't appear convinced, his surly mood lifted slightly.

"Let's take a break," he said as he motioned toward the house. "We'll practice more later."

Damon just turned around to go back inside when he noticed Klaus standing nearby watching them both.

"I'm not sure how _I_ feel about a break," Klaus said curtly as he marched over to them. "In fact, I really don't like the idea of taking one now. Get back to work."

"What if I don't want to?" Damon smirked. "In fact, I really think he needs a break now."

"I don't think he needs a break until I know where that cure is and have used it to cure Elena." Klaus raced over and knocked Jeremy out with a quick blow to the dead. "I suggest you follow me Damon, or I might let him start by killing you."


End file.
